Business:

Now that Lockheed Martin has decided to drop its protest against the recent award of the U.S. Navy’s Air And Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) contract to Raytheon, the next step for the company is to find a way to stitch its vaunted Aegis combat system together with the service’s future radar.

With weapons testing becoming a more regular event for the F-35 program, developers are looking ahead to a fast pace of trials this year to prepare for the first operational use of the stealthy, single-engine fighter by the U.S. Marine Corps in 2015.

Lawmakers are taking fresh aim at the problem of sexual assault in the ranks, ordering the Defense Department to move forward on recommendations made last July by the department’s own inspector general.

The Navy is changing the homeport of three of its 10 aircraft carriers, sending San Diego’s Ronald Reagan to Japan, bringing the Theordore Roosevelt here from Norfolk, Virginia, and recalling the George Washington from Asia for a major overhaul in the United States.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ pattern of selective responsiveness – and sometimes total unresponsiveness – to oversight inquiries from the House Veterans Affairs Committee has continued into 2014.

Space:

They are cosmic detonations that briefly outshine the light of entire galaxies. And they were a crucial tool in the discovery of dark energy, the force that is accelerating the expansion of the Universe. Yet the process that gives rise to type Ia supernovae has remained mysterious.

The Pentagon notified Congress of a possible $1.13 billion sale of V-22s to Israel on Jan. 14, the same day that Israel’s leading daily published a verbal assault on Washington’s top diplomat attributed to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Bogey” Ya’alon.

The Indonesian Army has turned to the British arm of Thales to plug a gap in its short-range air defenses with a deal to purchase its Forceshield integrated system of vehicle-mounted missiles and radars.

IHS Jane’s has learned from local sources that the Uruguayan Air Force is considering a deal to acquire four Cessna A-37B Dragonfly combat aircraft from the Ecuadorian Air Force as an interim measure because of the lack of a government decision on procuring a new fighter.

Viewpoint:

Much has changed in the two years since I wrote “Time to Attack Iran,” but one basic fact hasn’t: Diplomacy remains unlikely to neutralize the threat from Iran’s nuclear program. A truly comprehensive diplomatic settlement between Iran and the West is still the best possible outcome, but there is little reason to believe that one can be achieved.

Gates should have made his objections known sooner, when he still might have been able to do something about them. Instead, by his own account, he seethed quietly. Had he spoken up at the time — privately or, if that didn’t work, publicly — he might have had some influence in changing the problems he saw: a worthless Congress, an insular White House staff and a president insufficiently devoted to his own policies.

Local military discounts

News: Israel lobbies for more missile defense funds than Obama sought - For the second consecutive year, Israeli officials have asked the U.S. Congress to add more than $300 million to President Barack Obama’s budget request for their nation’s missile-defense programs. Business: Inside one of the most intense, and unusual, Pentagon contracting wars - The much-anticipated...

Italy resumes Navy exercise amid new tensions over Libya The Italian Navy is resuming exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, including near the coast of Libya, amid concerns about rapidly deteriorating security in the North African nation. The exercise began March 2 and includes anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-ship training operations. The exercise was suspended for a...

Two Boeing 702SP (small platform) satellites, the first all-electric propulsion satellites to launch, have sent initial signals from space, marking the first step toward ABS, based in Bermuda, and Eutelsat, based in Paris, being able to provide enhanced communication services to their customers. Whatís more, the satellites were launched as a conjoined stack on a...

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and SENER, a leading Spanish engineering company, announced March 2 that they have signed a teaming agreement that promotes the use of the multi-mission Predator B® RPA to support Spain’s airborne surveillance and reconnaissance requirements. GAASI is a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft systems, radars, and electro-optic and relate...

Raytheon has delivered a second Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System mission. The second VIIRS unit will fly ab...

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